Tapioca pearls pudding (saku piak)

Tapioca pearls pudding

   The best thing about this tapioca pearls pudding dessert must be the sticky and various tropical fruits with salted creamy coconut topping. This tapioca pudding is one of foods that it’s actually really easy cooking related on simple ingredients to create a delicious pudding.

Ingredients: 

•  1/2 cup small tapioca pearls 
•  1/3 cup sugar 
•  2 cups water 
•  1/3 cup young coconut flesh, slice into thin strips

Coconut topping: 

•  1/2 cup coconut cream 
•  A pinch of salt

Preparation:

      1.     Place the water to boils, turn heat down to low. Add tapioca pearls to boiling water and gentle stirring constantly over low heat to prevent the bottom from sticking and avoid scorching. Boil until tapioca pearls becomes transparent and it will be done when it is nearly all clear (no more white balls).

      2.    Add sugar to taste and coconut flesh to the boiling tapioca pearls, stir and return to boil once again, remove from heat.

      3.    Prepare the coconut topping by mix the coconut cream and salt together in a small saucepan with over low heat, slowly to the boil until the mixture becomes thickens then remove from heat.

      4.   Scoop up the tapioca pudding into a dessert bowl with some of salted coconut topping and serve warm.

     Tips: 

•  White tapioca pearls can be substituted by green tapioca pearls (pandan). 
•  Adding a little more water if the boiling tapioca pearls very sticky. 
•  Add 1-2 kind of tropical fruits like sweet corn, jackfruit, cassava, taro, fresh lychees or fresh longans with the boiling tapioca pearls for creating a wonderful taste.

Coconut custard in pumpkin (sangkhaya fak thong)



Coconut custard in pumpkin

      Sweet and silky creamy coconut custard in pumpkin. One of the most favorite of Thai desserts is coconut custard steamed inside a small pumpkin. Pumpkin pie in which lightly sweetened coconut custard is eaten with soft substance of steamed pumpkin. This is a healthy dessert with vitamin and fiber of pumpkin, it relies on simple ingredients and quite easy cooking to create a perfect balance of both texture.

 

Ingredients: 

• 1-2 small pumpkin
• 5 large eggs
• 300 grams thick coconut cream
• 300 grams palm sugar (coconut palm sugar is recommended) 
• 5 pandan leaves 
• pinch of salt (omitted)

Special utensils: a steamer

 

Preparation

 1. Clean the pumpkin skin, using a sharp knife carefully cut off the stem end of the pumpkin tops to make the lids. Using a small spoon carefully scoop out the pumpkin innards about the seeds and spongy tissues and then discard. Clean well both sides of the pumpkins and set aside.

  2. In a large bowl, mix the eggs with the palm sugar, coconut cream, salt and the pandan leaves. Knead the mixture with the pandan leaves to dissolve the palm sugar and beat the eggs, continue knead until the mixture well combined.  

3. Strain the mixture through cheesecloth or a fine mesh sieve and pour the mixture into the pumpkins, leaving 1 inches gap at the top. 

 4. Place water to a boil in a steamer base, turn down heat to medium-low. Put the pumpkins into a bowl slightly bigger then themselves and set the pumpkin lids to aside, place a bowl of pumpkins onto the steamer tray to steam them over medium low heat for about 45 minutes or until the custard is cooked. 

 5. Allow its cool down, serve cut into wedges, warm or cold. 

 Tips: 

• Freshly extracted coconut cream is recommended for custard recipes, key success is the quality of the coconut cream. 
• Steam the pumpkins over medium low heat for silky and smooth custard. Because of the air bubbles are effective from steam over high heat causing the custard to be spongy and split. 
• Filled the custard mixture to the top off cause steamed custard overflows. 
• Using pandan leaves to knead the custard mixture for enhance the fragrance of the custard. Pandan leaves can be substituted with brown dried banana leaves.

Steamed pandan coconut pudding with cream (khanom thuay)

Steamed pandan coconut pudding with cream

     A delicious and impress creamy pudding dessert. This steamed pandan coconut pudding enriched with the tropical charm of coconut cream attains a wonderful flavor that is vastly superior to any other pudding. These little puddings are made in the small porcelain cups and are composed of 2 parts: the bottom part is the sweet pandan coconut pudding and on top is a salty coconut cream layer, creating a one of memorial flavor old time recipes until nowadays.

Ingredients:

Pandan coconut pudding:

• 3/4 cup rice flour
• 3 tablespoons arrowroot or corn flour
• 1 cup palm sugar
• 1 cup coconut milk
• ¼ cup pandan juice

Coconut topping:

• 3 tablespoons rice flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup coconut cream

Special utensils: small porcelain cups, a steamer

Preparation:

      1.       For the pandan coconut pudding mixture, combine all ingredients of rice flour, arrowroot flour, palm sugar, coconut milk and pandan juice in a big mixing bowl. Gradually stir the mixture together until it’s no lumps of flour and palm sugar. Mix well  to get a smooth pandan batter, then set aside

      2.      Next, prepare the coconut topping, mix the rice flour, salt and coconut cream together in a small blow, stir constantly to get a smooth mixture.

      3.      Prepare a steamer with the small porcelain cups. Place the empty cups onto the steaming tray over high heat until the cups are very hot.

      4.      Remove the hot cups with the steaming tray from the heat and pour enough pandan batter to fill 3/4 full of each cup. Steam the cups for 5-7 minutes.

      5.      Open the steamer lid out, fill the top off the cups with the coconut topping immediately and continue steaming over high heat for 7-10 minutes. Then remove the cups from the heat and allow to cool.

      6.      Serve either warm or cold in the cup or remove it.

Tips:

• Coconut cream from extract of really mature coconut to create a beautiful glossy coconut topping surface.
• Steam the coconut topping until it done, do not steam it too long over 10 minutes that cause too liquid on the topping.

Bananas in syrup or Candied bananas (kluay naam waa cheuam)

Bananas in syrup

     This is an irresistible fruity dessert. This banana dessert is so easy cooking relies on simple ingredients into zestful sweet and luscious. These bananas have been glazed and coated with sugar are another delicious one.  Get that same great taste that get a candy-coated banana over ice cream is excellent.

Ingredients:

• 6 nearly ripe (yellow-green) bananas (choose not quite ripe bananas)
• 2 cups slaked lime water
• 2 cups golden brown sugar
• 2 cups water

Coconut topping: 

• ½ coconut cream
•  A pinch of salt

Special utensils: brass wok

  Preparation:

      1.     Peel bananas and cut each in half lengthwise into small pieces then soak the bananas in slaked lime water for 30 minutes. Rinse the bananas with purified water, drain and set aside.

      2.    To make the syrup, combine sugar and water in a brass wok or a deep pan over medium heat into the boil slowly until sugar completely dissolves. Strain the syrup through a cheesecloth or a fine mesh sieve and return to boil over medium heat until the syrup becomes quite thick to coat a wooden spoon.

      3.      Put the bananas in the boiling syrup, and cook over low heat with flip each banana carefully or shake the wok occasionally. Simmer gently until the bananas are turn to glossy pale red and then remove from the heat.

      4.       Prepare the coconut topping by mix the coconut cream and salt together in a small saucepan with over low heat, slowly to the boil until the mixture becomes thickens then remove from heat.

      5.      Serve warm with coconut sauce topping.

Tips:

The slaked lime water will give more firms the bananas flesh. However candied banana does not matter if slaked lime water neglected in this recipes, the bananas just will get softer and color will not change to pale red, it’s still yellow color. Add ¼ tsp lime juice for a while simmers the bananas to get more red color.

Another one to get more beautiful deep red color of bananas, add ¼ cup palm sugar in the boiling syrup.

Do not simmer the bananas over high heat, always simmer it over medium or low heat only for absorb and saturated with sugar.

Shake the wok carefully to make enhance smooth texture of bananas.

Mock pomegranate seeds in coconut ice syrup (Thap Thim Krawp)

Mock pomegranate seeds in coconut ice syrup

      A beautiful Thai dessert also known as red ruby seeds in coconut ice syrup. This dessert was attracted firstly by red tempting color seeds floating in light white coconut that provides the perfect solution. It looks so a refreshing dessert, tastes sweet, coconut flavor and has wonderful contrasting crunchy ice.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water chestnuts, peeled and cut into small cubes
• 1 tsp red food coloring (concentrated artificial sala flavor syrup)
• ½ tapioca flour (according to need)
• ½ white sugar
• ¾ cup coconut milk              
• ¾ cup water (or jasmine flavored water)
• crushed ice

Preparation:

1. Toss the water chestnuts well with red sala flavor syrup to obtain a pomegranate-like color (if you use the food coloring have to mix with some water). Soak for about 10 minutes. Drain. 

2. Put the water chestnut cubes in a large bowl, add just enough amount of tapioca flour and toss well until each cube is coat completely with the flour. Discard any excess flour. 

3. Place water to a boil, put the floured water chestnuts into the boiling water, cooked until they float to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon and drop in cold water immediately. Drain. 

4. Combine the sugar and jasmine flavored water in a pot, boil over medium heat until it becomes syrupy. Add coconut milk and stir well a syrupy mixture. Remove from the heat. Leave it cool.

5. Serve an amount of mock pomegranate with a sufficient amount of coconut syrup and some crushed ice.

Tips:

• Add topping with 4-6 pieces of jackfruit strips to create a wonderful taste and lovely color dessert.

Pandan coconut custard or dipping sauce (khanom pang jim sangkhaya)

Pandan coconut custard

     Silky smooth pandan coconut custard dipping sauce, this pandan custard is a common spread or dipping sauce for fresh breads of all sorts, waffles and fired bread sticks (deep-fried bread).  Always this custard used as filling or frosting for cakes and jam rolls too. A tiny fully flavored sweet pandan with green silky smooth custard is really awesome.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups coconut cream
• ¾ cups white sugar
• 2 tbsp corn flour (cornstarch)
• 1 tbsp tapioca flour
• ¼ cup thick pandan juice
• Pinch of salt

Preparation:

     1. Beat the eggs well in a bowl, add the salt, coconut cream, corn flour, tapioca flour and sugar to the eggs. Whisk the mixture together until the sugar dissolves.

     2. Strain the mixture through the cheesecloth and pour into a double boiler, place over high heat and stir it constantly until it thickens up.

     3. Add the pandan juice, stirring to mix and continue boiling until the green mixture becomes thickens.

     4. Taking off the heat and transfer to serve warm as a dip or spread with any bread.

Tips:

• If the mixture thick, uses a spatula to help push it through the cheesecloth or a fine mesh sieve to remove small grains and any lumps to make custard more ensure smooth texture.

• For very creamy custard, add ¼ cup full-cream milk with the eggs mixture.
• Serve warm pandan coconut custard with evaporated milk topping for a little creamy

 which is not overly heavy. Sometime use a skim milk or low fat fresh milk in the same way.

• For tea lover, just used thick tea or green tea instead of pandan juice to make tea custard (dipping sauce). The fragrant tea is perfect with creamy coconut, this is wonderful combination of custard.

Sweet corn pudding (khao phoht piak)



Sweet corn pudding

        Another simple Thai dessert in this case is related on simple ingredients and really easy cooking. The sweet substance of the fresh corn added some of the salted coconut cream to make a lovely sweet dessert.

Ingredients:

•  3 cups corn , thinly slice all the kernels
• 2 cups water
• ½ cup sugar (to taste)
• 1-2 pandan leaves, knotted
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour or corn flour

Coconut topping: 

• ½ coconut cream
• A pinch of salt

Preparation:

1. Put the water in a medium saucepan or pot, add the corn and the pandan leaves then bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring frequently until the corn are just tender. Remove any pandan leaves after release their sweet aroma.

2. Add the sugar to taste a little sweet and continue to boil, until it has completely dissolved.

3. Mix the flour with some water in a small bowl then slowly pour to the corn mixture, keep continues stirring until the corn mixture to be thick and clear. Then remove from the heat.

4. Prepare the coconut topping by mix the coconut cream and salt together in a small saucepan with over low heat, slowly to the boil until the mixture becomes thickens then remove from heat.

5. Serve warm the sweet corn pudding added some topping of the salted coconut cream.

Tips: 

• For the best taste use sweetest fresh corn from the season.
• Add some of coconut young when boil the sweet corn for creating a wonderful taste.